The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh continued their 6-month Commonwealth Tour in Panama, on this day in 1953, following Tours around the United Kingdom after the Queen’s Coronation. The stops in Bermuda, Jamaica, and Panama were followed by visits to Fiji, Tonga, New Zealand, Australia, Ceylon, Aden, Uganda, Malta and Gibraltar. Panama became the first foreign nation visited by the Queen after her accession.
The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh arrived on the coasts of the province of Colón, aboard the Royal Yacht ‘Gothic’, receiving a 21-gun salute near the entrance to the Panama Canal as they were welcomed by the President José Antonio Remón Cantera, which was followed by a ride through the city of Colón to the Municipal Palace, where the Queen received the keys to the city.
The Ministry of Education had ordered for every primary school child in the city to form a guard of honour for the Queen, who wore a silk dress and white gloves. Recalling the visit many years later, the Queen said that, at one point, as crowds swelled around her open-topped car, a security guard reached over and pressed down the lock on the door. She deadpanned back with typical wit: “Thank you I feel much safer now.”
The Queen and Duke travelled overland to the other end of the canal at Port Balboa where they were hosted by the governor of the Canal Zone and also visited the Miraflores Canal lock to see it in operation, before their arrived in Panama City, where they were greeted by huge crowds.
In the evening, the Queen (wearing Queen Mary’s Lover’s Knot Tiara and Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee Necklace) and Duke of Edinburgh attended a spectacular Gala Dinner at the Presidential Palace in Panama City, during which President Jose Antonio Remon Cantera presented the Queen with the Gold Collar of the Order of Manuel Amador Guerrero, followed by a Ball at the Union Club:
That night, a glittering gala was held for the Queen and Duke at Club Union, a private members club in the old town which hosted the cream of Panamanian society. The Panama Canal museum still has in its collections the protocol notes given to US guests meeting Queen Elizabeth, with guidance including that “a bow or curtsey is not required for Americans” and that Her Majesty “must always initiate the conversation”.
The club in which they danced is no longer there (having moved to another part of the city) while Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip never returned to Panama. However their close connection with the country endured, not least in the form of the Panama hats which the Duke of Edinburgh often sported at official engagements.
At almost midnight they boarded the yacht and set sail at 7:00 am on November 30, to travel to Fiji and Tonga.
Lady Pamela Mountbatten recalled:
“Panama proved to be quite a trial, the crowds behaving very differently from those in Jamaica. As we drove through the spacious streets of Cristóbal, an unenthusiastic group of Americans stood around looking as if they would rather be anywhere else, but then as we left the Canal Zone and entered the city of Colón, a large crowd of people appeared, yelling itself hoarse, and intent, it seemed, on thrusting themselves into our car. We were being accompanied on foot by some rather overweight policemen who walked at such a slow pace that this soon became an invitation for the crowds to break rank and swarm around our vehicles. With much hooting of horns, our drivers tried to increase their speed, and the fat policemen broke into a run, their hands feverishly clutching their revolvers. One policeman decided to take out a vicious-looking whip and began to lay into the crowd.
By this point Michael and I had become separated from the queen and Prince Philip’s car by a sea of bodies. It was rather frightening and we were particularly concerned for the safety of those who kept running into the path of our car. The drivers narrowly managed to avoid running anybody down, however, and we decamped outside the town hall—unnerved, and hot and bothered by the unpleasant humidity.”
A band played something that might have been “God Save the Queen” and, with far more gusto, the Panamanian national anthem, then on the steps of the town hall the mayor presented the queen with a gold key to the city. Where was Lady Foot when we needed her? As we fought our way past ranks of Girl Guides, I went to take the key from the queen and for the first time she seemed quite lost and bewildered. Not wishing to impale myself on the bayonets of the soldiers, I found myself climbing over a row of parked motorcycles and in so doing getting oil all over a very smart new dress. The industrious Miss Bramford certainly had her work cut out that evening. Meanwhile, Johnny Althorp had became entangled in the band. Each time he tried to escape, the trombone players extended their slides and trapped him.
We drove back out of Colón to the Canal Zone, where American outriders accompanied us some thirty miles to a lock in the canal. The vegetation was deep green, thick and swampy, and the atmosphere oppressive, and I couldn’t help thinking of the thousands of lives sacrificed for the building of the canal. Having watched a Panamanian ship go through the lock, we were taken for lunch with the governor, who expressed surprise that we hadn’t already sailed on Gothic along the canal, as this was by far the best way to see it. We bit our lips to stop ourselves pointing out that it was his wretched lunch party that was preventing us from doing so. After the reception, we were thankfully able to return to Gothic, hoping for the merest glimpse as she passed through the canal. It turned out, however, that we were not allowed up on deck because it was a Sunday and we hadn’t yet been to church. The American bishop, Gooden, insisted on coming on board and holding a service belowdecks, in the day cabin. We got our revenge by looking out of the window the whole time.”
That evening we had an official dinner at the presidential palace, followed by a reception elsewhere. Michael and I were nervous, not at all happy if the queen and Prince Philip were out of our sight, and when they were driven off from the palace after dinner, leaving us behind, Michael pushed me into a luxurious limousine, pointed in anguish at the queen’s departing car, and commanded the driver to “Follow that car.” The chauffeur protested that the car we had jumped into belonged to the president of the Legislative Assembly, but Michael was insistent. Later, at the reception, I found myself sitting next to the president of the Assembly, who said mutinously, “You stole my car.” I offered profuse apologies and muttered something about not knowing it was his car. But he had not finished and a twinkle appeared in his eye. “You stole my car, so I stole the foreign minister’s car. The foreign minister stole the chancellor’s car, and the chancellor had to hail a taxi.” The chancellor, it appeared, was not one to bear a grudge lightly and, white with rage, sat in stony silence for the rest of the evening, refusing to speak to anyone.”
The Telegraph | Trove | Royal Splendor
